Tegan and Sara find diverse fans

The twins have many
sold-out dates on their
current tour.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

Everybody needs a hug.

Though indie pop artists and twin sisters Tegan and Sara are naturally there for each other, musicians inherently like to feel loved by both audiences and their peers. The former’s adulation has grown in recent years, especially with the release of the duo’s brand-new album “The Con”; however, it’s the attention from fellow indie rockers that has left Sara dismayed.

“I think Tegan and I always felt like outsiders,” said Sara, calling from Dallas. “Not like outsiders in a bad way. I don’t think anybody was ever, like, mean to us. But we always felt like we were always on our path and doing our own thing. I was always kind of envious of the scenes with like Broken Social Scene, Stars and Dears.

“Like the Canadian scene where there always seemed to be this solidarity among all of these people, and I was like, ‘I wish we had a favorite band we were friends with.’”

Don’t feel sorry for Tegan and Sara. The band arrived on the indie scene around the turn of the century with critically acclaimed albums such as 2002’s “If It Was You” and 2004’s “So Jealous.” Early on the outfit opened for such notable acts as Neil Young, Rufus Wainwright, The Pretenders, Ben Folds, The Killers, Ryan Adams, Weezer and more. 

But it was another group of bands in a decidedly different, harder and more mascara-wearing genre that were taking notice of Tegan and Sara.

“What we realized when ‘So Jealous’ got bigger is the bands who were coming to us and saying they really liked us or one of our songs, it wasn’t an indie rock band, it was an emo or hardcore band,” Sara said. “Bands that we never really thought about would like us.

“That’s been kind of funny, but in a weird way, as much as we’re sort of a part of this kind of indie pop world or rock world, I think we have more solidarity with what’s going on in the DIY, hardcore scene. Not musically, but in terms of what’s going on songwriting-wise, we relate to each other more.”

Still, Sara would have no problem if, say, members of Interpol or The Decemberists wanted to be on her online buddy list or in her cell phone circle of friends. Nonetheless, Tegan and Sara have evolved into a bigger world, with many dates of their current stateside tour selling out. Tickets are still available for the siblings’ Sunday date at the House of Blues.

Sara said there’s a palpable sense of momentum behind the band that never existed before.

“This is probably the first tour we’ve ever done in our nine years of touring where I haven’t been on the phone every day with my manager asking how many tickets we sold.” Sara said. “We’re sort of laughing and happy to do this tour, realizing that all we have to do is make sure nobody gets a meth habit or we don’t blow up the bus. So far we’re all right.”